Colorful Orzo Salad and Baked Radicchio

Two easy Italian-inspired dishes. It took under thirty minutes to prepare them both.

COLORFUL ORZO SALAD
This recipe, as well as few hours of fickle sunshine, inspired the orzo salad.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry orzo pasta
Juice from one lemon
Half a carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
Half a cucumber, sliced into half moons
10-ish cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 onion, sliced
Handful of dill, minced
A few sprigs of parsley, minced
Two to three tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:
Boil some water. I don't know how much, but enough to cover you pasta without the pot boiling over. Add pasta and cook until soft, about eight minutes. While the pasta is boiling you can prep your veggies. Toss the pasta together with the other ingredients. Chill for a while (an hour?) to let the flavors meld, or eat it right away!

Before baking.

BAKED RADICCHIO
I picked up some radicchio the other day, wanting to try something new in a salad. It tasted... well, bitter... like the old woman I'm destined to become. In Italy, radicchio is often grilled, but as I don't have a grill (it's on the shopping list), I improvised and tried baking it. The flavor definitely mellows once heated (I would describe it as a cross between spicy mustard greens and turnips), but this dish is still reserved for adult taste buds.

Ingredients:
Half a head of Raddichio, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil (or enough to coat)
Salt and pepper to taste


Method:
Pre-heat oven to 400° F. Toss the radicchio in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for five minutes, then shake to redistribute. Bake another five minutes then eat. 

Two Veggie Sides, One Quick, One Not-So-Quick, Both Easy

I realize the coloring in this pic looks a little like school lunch, but it really was good. 

GREEN BEANS AND BROCCOLI WITH GARLIC BUTTER
I'm usually pretty against putting a bunch of butter on vegetables, because, oh-my-god they actually can taste good on their own. But garlic butter was starting to sound pretty sexy this evening so I couldn't help myself (I realize how weird that sounds). Anyway, this took under fifteen minutes to make.

Ingredients: 
Bunch of broccoli, cleaned and cut into little trees
1 cup green beans, cleaned, ends snapped off and snapped in half
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 clove of garlic, finely minced or put through a garlic press
Dash of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (optional)

Method:
Steam the broccoli and green beans until bright green, about seven minutes (Fun fact: Apparently steaming does not destroy "anti-cancer compounds" found in broccoli the way that boiling does. But that's according to Wikipedia, so who really knows).While the vegetables are steaming, mash the garlic and butter together in a bowl. Mash in the parsley. This is optional because I don't see the point in buying a bunch of parsley to only use a few sprigs, but if you are as lucky as me you may have a ton still hanging on in the garden (Survived three snows and numerous frosts, pretty dang hardy stuff). Toss together the butter mixture (as much or as little of the two tablespoons, you can always save some for later), lemon juice, and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

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CUCUMBER SALAD
Ingredients:
1 English cucumber, finely sliced (I busted out my mandoline for this)
1/4 of a red onion, finely sliced
Couple sprigs of dill, finely minced
Handful of walnuts
1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
Dash of lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Place the cucumber in a strainer or salad spinner and salt well (I'm guessing I used about a teaspoon of salt). Let the cucumber sit for an hour or so while the salt sucks out the excess water.

Check your Facebook, fold laundry, chain smoke, etc. Now toast the walnuts on medium-low. Watch carefully and do not get distracted by said Facebook account and let the nuts burn as I did. Spin the cucumbers in the salad spinner or blot the excess liquid off with paper towels. Toss all ingredients together. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least another fifteen minutes before eating.

Soba Noodles with Veggies in Ginger-Miso Broth

I didn’t really like ginger for a long time, but recently I’ve been on a big ginger kick after reading famed food critic Ruth Reichl’s description of fragrant ginger broth in Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise. The inspiration for this meal came from here. I love the method of cooking the veggies by pouring hot broth over them just before serving. The whole dish tastes much more vibrant than it would have had the veggies been simmered in the broth on the stove.

Note: Some of the best homemade meals I've made have come from W.T.F.I.A. (whatever the fuck is around) recipes. Soup especially, is a great way to pass off some random items lurking in the crisper as a well-thought out meal. I realize that lemongrass is not a traditional Japanese ingredient, but like I said, W.T.F.I.A. And for this same reason I didn't include exact measurements on the veggie ingredients. As you can see from the pictures below, I cut up about half a cup, or a handful, of each kind of veg. For some authentic Japanese recipes, and general entertainment from Jacques, an adorable gray toy poodle, check out Cooking with Dog (“It’s not what you think!”).

Ingredients:

• Half a package of soba (buckwheat) noodles, cooked and drained  

Broth:

• Stems from 8 shitake mushrooms (reserve caps)
• 4 cups of vegetable broth (I used broth powder and water)
• 2-3 tablespoons miso paste
• 3 cloves garlic, crush and chopped
• 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
• ¼ cup cooking sherry
• 2-3 dried chili peppers
• Tamari or soy sauce to taste

Sauté:

• Caps of eight shitake mushrooms, cleaned sliced into strips
• Half an eight ounce package of extra firm tofu, cubed
 

 

 

 Veggies:

• Daikon radish, sliced in an Asian julienne
• Carrot, sliced in an Asian julienne
• Snow peas, ends removed and cut in half
• Baby bok choi
• Napa or green cabbage, shredded

Method: 
In a large saucepan, combine the mushroom stems, miso paste and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and add the garlic, ginger, and chili peppers. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Sauté the sliced mushroom caps and tofu until the mushrooms become soft and the tofu begins to brown (I used a well-loved cast iron pan sprayed with a bit of canola oil for this). Take off heat. Turn off the broth and let cool for a few minutes. Strain the solids out, then bring the broth to a boil again. Arrange the Soba Noodles on one side of a bowl. Arrange veggies in little clumps on the other side. Pour the hot broth (be careful!) into the bowl. Season with tamari or soy sauce and enjoy.

The various ingredients arranged in a bowl before the broth is added.

Rice and Black Beans with Garlicky Kale

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked rice (white or brown, I used white to save time)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed (could also use one cup of dry beans, soaked overnight)
• 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee (See note below)*
• 1/4 of an onion, diced
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Hunk of ginger about the size of a finger tip, minced
• 2 cups kale, cut in a chiffonade (great cut for leafy greens)
• Juice from 1/4 of a lime
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried chipotle or chili powder
• Half of an avocado, sliced

Method:

A fingertip's worth of ginger.

Sauté the onions and bay leaves in the oil or ghee on medium-low heat until the onions become translucent, about five minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to sauté until tomatoes become soft, about another more three minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds. Immediately add the beans. Do not burn the garlic! Anyone who says you should cook garlic until it begins to brown, is wrong. Browned garlic tastes and smells nasty.

 

I used curly kale, but you could substitute Lacinato, a flatter-leafed variety. 

Add the kale, and stir as the heat wilts it down. After about three minutes add the rice and mix well. Cook one more minute. Turn off the heat. Stir in the spices and lime juice. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with avocado slices. This is also yummy with melted cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Sans avocado.

A note on cooking oils: I use ghee (clarified butter) a lot for cooking because it has a high smoke point and adds rich flavor. I only buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which I do not recommend using for sautéing. Some folks say that coconut oil can withstand high heat sautés, but I've found it tends to give food a sweet flavor. If all you have is Extra Virgin Olive Oil, don't heat it above medium-low. Burned olive oil, like burned garlic, is an incredible disappointment. If you are interested in more about the science behind cooking oils, Robert L. Wolke, is the food science man.